Ryuga Barton
Overview The young and noble Ryuga of Cadabra Island. Green to the seas and the world of piracy. Background = Early Life Ryuga was born on the island of Cadabra. The surname Barton held great esteem on the island as his father was the greatest mind present there and was gifted with the title 'Great Sage' because of it. The Great Sage loved his family and his children, but he was cold man who had a hard way of showing it. This led to his children of which there were many to having a special relationship and forming a hierarchy, the youngest child Ryuga who could barely speak was at the bottom of this hierarchy. This in turn lead to the smallest boy, Ryuga, having a very close bond with his sickly mother. On the island of Cadabra science was synonymous with magic, they defined it simply as enforcing your will on the established rules of the world. Soon enough the Great Sage announced he and other wizards upon the island were attempting to create a miracle, word spread to other islands of the feat they were attempting. This development lead to the Great Sage being home less and less, leading Ryuga to resent his father for leaving his sick mother by herself. Ryuga at the time had already begun schooling, he was a below average student and an overall headache to most who knew him. When he became of age and was capable of becoming an apprentice to one of the many wizards on the island none wanted to take him. It was thought he would go without tutor until he receieved a letter. The Great Magician Eibon wanted to take him as his apprentice. Eibon, the former Great Sage before he stepped down and Ryuga's father rose to prominence. Ryuga, his mother and all of his siblings were surprised, his father however, was indifferent to the news. Ryuga met Eibon the following week, the wizard had become a hermit and lived on the opposite side of their island, alone. Their first meeting was less than cordial, Ryuga's bigger than life personality clashed with the Great Sage who acted just as eccentric as the boy if not more. The work he did was boring, he watched and documented changes in the sea level, weather patterns and taking inventory on herbs in the garden. It was nothing like the exciting work he thought he was going to be able to attempt. Eibon and Ryuga continued to clash until one day Ryuga was putting away empty vials in the hermit's basement and came across a banner stashed in an old raft. It wasn't just any banner, it was a marine’s uniform. He took it to Eibon and asked for an explanation. The former Great Sage was shocked, he could've attempted to lie but it was clear the boy was too clever for that. He sat Ryuga down and revealed to him a secret, he used to be a marine before he settled on Cadabra. His reveal was met by laughs from Ryuga who couldn't believe the old man infront of him used to be a marine. This clearly didn't amuse Eibon who took Ryuga to the beach and gave him a demonstration of what he was capable of. Ryuga fancied himself a good fighter, he was incredibly swift from years of running away from punishment, but he never felt slower than when he fought Eibon. Ryuga laid face down in the sand beaten but not injured too gruesomely. Eibon nursed the boy's wounds but Ryuga wasn't even worried about his own health, he wanted to hear stories of the sea and Eibon's travels. Ryuga was absolutely intrigued by the great tales of piracy, but he couldn't fathom leaving his mother behind, the stories were escapism enough. Eibon explained that those were old times and his time on Cadabra was his second chance at life. But this didn't sate Ryuga, he threatened to expose Eibon if he didn't tell him what he wanted to hear and begrudgingly Eibon accepted. Ryuga continued his apprenticeship under Eibon but now his slow work was accented by tales of piracy and the high sea, it made their island seem so small in comparison. There was a world beyond their borders and he desperately wanted to see it. Ryuga was growing older and the work he was doing for Eibon increased in difficulty. The time Ryuga spent with Eibon training with the former Great Sage bolstered his capabilities greatly. At home things were worst, while he had siblings who stayed, there were more who left. Worst of all Ryuga's father buried himself deeper into his work while his wife became sicker by the day. Ryuga saw the worst of this and had taken up performing magic shows where he would put together spectacle to amaze his mother. When she smiled and applauded at the end of his shows it almost looked like she was healthy again. Months later, his mother dies. His father stops coming home all together leaving the remaining children in the care of their servants. They were all old enough to take care of themselves by this point, so the servants were just a formality. Ryuga attempted to confront his father about leaving his mother alone all this time to work on some 'miracle' but the point was moot, the Great Sage dismissed him with haste. The anger he felt was palpable, he stormed around Eibon's hut spouting off lines of violence. Eibon, feeling the pain his heart decided to reveal another secret to Ryuga, while Eibon was Ryuga's master he was his father's advisor. The reason he chose him to be his apprentice was because his father came to him and requested it. This was not all, it pained the Great Sage very deeply to be away from his family that he held so dear, but he believed if he could complete his miracle he'd be rewarded with enough funds to seek care for his wife. Ryuga was shocked, he couldn't sit still and felt he had to speak with his father immediately. As word continued to travel about the miracle being forged on Cadabra island there were those who sought to reap such things for themselves. On Ryuga's way back home there was an eerie silence, and then an explosion. Smog overtook the area in a few seconds and panic followed. The individuals on Cadabra weren't really trained combatants so when met by a vastly superior force they had no chance. Through the smog came Ryuga, rushing into his father's study. The Great Sage stood there, after the initial assault he had become wounded and traveled here with the hopes he'd see his son. In his hands he held a scarf, he tossed it towards Ryuga and he spoke in a tone softer than any he had used with the boy before. "My miracle was never capable of saving your mother, I couldn't finish it son. But maybe it can save you. Go." Stunned, he could say nothing and when he attempted to speak his father slammed his hand down on the counter interrupting any words he could've choked out in those final moments. "GO!" Ryuga put on the scarf and ran, he was always fast but dashing through the violence spilling over in the streets was no small feat, he ran to Eibon's cabin hoping the old magician might have some trick up his sleeve, and he did. A grand disappearing acts. Ryuga closed his eyes and thought hard, he couldn't hide here they'd surely come, and then he remembered. Shifting through the wizard’s basement he found the old raft. He filled it with things from the cabin and took to the sea, his apprenticeship giving him the abilities necessary to man an escape by himself. The island of Cadabra was up in flames and he couldn't do anything about it. All felt lost and he truthfully didn't know how he would go on. His eyes drifted to the side of the mast, there was a note taped to it. When he unfolded it there was a letter in Eibon's handwriting, "Good luck kid." Ryuga sat down, drifitng away from his home, the flames of Cadabra lit the night sky and tears began to fall down his face. Category:Characters